The Smashing Pumpkins are reportedly suing the band's onetime manager, Sharon Osbourne, in an effort to get back money the band paid Osbourne as an advance.

"The Hollywood Reporter" reports that the Pumpkins are seeking the $150,000 the band claims it paid Osbourne when it signed on with her in October of last year. The Pumpkins hooked up with Osbourne (who also manages her husband, Ozzy, and Coal Chamber) in October, but Osbourne dropped the band from her stable in January claiming that Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan "was making me sick" (see "Osbourne Drops Smashing Pumpkins From Management Roster"). Spokespeople for the Pumpkins had no comment on the matter, and a spokesperson for Osbourne Management was unavailable for comment at press time. Osbourne's departure as the group's manager came as the band was preparing to release "Machina/The Machines Of God" on February 29, and launched a brief volley of harsh words

that saw Osbourne call Corgan "a sissy" in decrying the "mind games" she claims hindered her working relationship with the band.